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A long-time member of Seattle's tech scene, serial entrepreneur
Naveen Jain is the center of a rags-to-riches story that has him
now reaching for the moon. Literally. Growing up around
impoverished Uttar Pradesh, India Jain's difficult upbringing had
him often feeling hunger pains and frequently having his home
uprooted, spending no more than a year in one location. Despite
his hardships, Jain managed to get a degree in engineering and
his MBA. Upon graduation, he moved to the U.S. with $5 in his
pocket and soon began his entrepreneurial journey.

After having a stint at Microsoft in the late '80s, Jain went on
to found online-search company Infospace and public-record service
inome (formerly Intelius).
Currently, he is the founder of Moon Express, a commercial
space exploration company dedicated to discovering the Moon's
resources.

We caught up with Jain to discuss what he's learned on his
journey and what advice he would impart to aspiring
entrepreneurs.

Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you have
done differently when you were first starting up?

A: I learned a great deal with my first startup
InfoSpace. In particular, I learned the hard way how one should
build out a team.

At InfoSpace, I was the sole founder and lacked a group of
peers and advisors, as well as the experience to know how badly I
needed them. My own personal identity became interwoven with the
identity of the company. I prided myself on being involved with
every facet of the day-to-day operations of the business, being
involved in every important meeting and taking full
responsibility for every mistake and victory.

I did things considerably different when founding inome. Our six
co-founders were experts in a variety of different areas. So
while today I may be not immersed in every decision, I am
surrounded by a team of experts, each charged with the
responsibilities to drive their own elements of the business. As
a result, we were able to scale quickly and create a sustainable,
profitable business that has stood the test of time.

Q: What do you think would have happened if you had
had this knowledge then?

A: I would have taken an approach to
team-building with InfoSpace that was very similar to what we’ve
done at inome.

A: In the early days, InfoSpace was a small
operation. I ran it intentionally lean to maintain costs and also
didn’t want to over-expand. We had a small office in Bellevue,
Washington with little support staff. As the principal of the
company, when something broke, it was my responsibility to fix
it.

On one occasion, during a particularly heavy rain storm, our
office was at risk of flooding. I spent hours alone boxing up
everything I could and then placing anything I couldn’t transport
onto tables, chairs, old computer monitors -- anything to get
them as high above ground as possible. In those painstaking
hours, I realized this experience was a metaphor for the entire
business and that its future was based strictly on what I brought
to the table, as opposed to being able to leverage the skills and
expertise of a team. The experience was an eye-opening moment in
my career.

Q: How do you think young entrepreneurs might
benefit from this insight?

A: Talented co-founders who offer complementary
skills are critical. They have expertise in specific areas you
don’t. I am consistently skeptical of executives who think they
can do it all. Mature executives have made a clear assessment of
what they are good at and where they need to rely on the skills
of others.

Successful entrepreneurs find great talent, add them to their
team and continue to give credit where credit is due.

Q: Besides inventing a time machine, how might they
realize these sorts of helpful pearls of wisdom sooner?

A: I believe there are three fundamental ways we
learn: by asking questions of others, by reading and by doing.
Certainly, the first two are very important. However, at the end
of the day, there is no substitute for actually taking the plunge
as an entrepreneur and learning from your own mistakes.
Successful entrepreneurs are constantly experimenting and
tweaking their products and other aspects of their businesses.
Failures are inevitable and should be celebrated for the
subsequent opportunities they bring. The key is to learn from
them quickly and make adjustments.

A: I’m glad I didn’t know how many professionals
are simply going through the motions, feigning interest in an
idea or business, without a real passion for them. If you don’t
care deeply -- very deeply -- about what you do, what’s the
point?

Too many people compartmentalize their work and personal lives
when the truth is, successful entrepreneurs know the two bleed
over in countless ways, each and every day. And the best
entrepreneurs wouldn’t have it any other way.

Q: Best advice for young entrepreneurs?

A: Have a passion for solving a problem rather
than a specific idea or product. When entrepreneurs grow highly
attached to ideas and they start to invest huge amounts of time
and money, it often becomes impossible to let go. Over time, your
products will change and business models will evolve. There
really is no such thing as a magic product. And rarely is there
“overnight success.” Success is brought about by hard work, focus
and indeed, passion.

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned: don’t forget to enjoy the
journey. The road to success is long and mired with landmines,
well intentioned mistakes and sleepless nights. It is important
to celebrate the milestones and successes along the way, however
small they may be. Through this enjoyment you will create a more
loyal and passionate team and a more well-rounded and passionate
you.

-This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

What do you know now that you wish you would have
known then? Let us know in the comments below.